Choppy Europe hit by rising euro

Schering continues rise, sees Morgan Stanley upgrade

LONDON (CBS.MW) -- A creeping euro put a halt to European stock markets gains Friday, with automakers taking the brunt of losses in a choppy session.

The German DAX Xetra 30 index (1876534) eased 0.1 percent to 3,478 and the French CAC 40 index (1804546) eased 0.4 percent to 3,312. London markets also traded close to the flat line. See story on U.K. markets.

The euro moved back up to $1.1802 vs. the U.S. dollar, amid the Bank of Japan's decision to lower interest rates on concerns over the strong yen. See story on Bank of Japan decision.

In what is becoming a familiar pattern, auto producers took the move the hardest, with BMW (519000) falling 1.8 percent and Volkswagen (766400) losing 1.4 percent.

Energy groups were one of the few sectors in positive territory, as Royal Dutch Petroleum (00947)
RD
and Repsol
REP, -0.48%
seeing slight gains.

Brent crude oil futures for December were at $29.84 per barrel, up 34 cents after strong gains Thursday, following oil heating stocks being significantly lower than 2002 levels. Gas prices also rose yesterday.

"Even with all this supportive news, yesterday's oil price rise looks exaggerated and unsustainable. However, if oil prices stay above $28, there will be earnings upgrades for E&P businesses," said Williams de Broe analyst Andrew Whittock.

Upgrade boosts Schering

German drugmaker Schering (717200)
SHR, +0.34%
advancing for the third straight session after making a discovery related to Alzheimer's disease detection. Schering shares rose 5.1 percent, as Morgan Stanley raised its rating to overweight from equal weight, as the broker sees the risk/reward profile lower after recent news.

Carrefour (012017), Europe's largest retailer, also improved, eased 0.5 percent after it said third quarter sales improved 4.6 percent to 19.78 billion euros, or a 5.8 percent rise at constant exchange rates. Carrefour said the impact on currencies was not as strong as in other quarters, and new stores openings bolstered sales. On a like-for-like basis, Carrefour sales rose 3.6 percent.

BNP Paribas analyst Philippe Suchet said the sales report came right in the middle of consensus forecasts, and overall he is optimistic that the retailer can meet its full year target of 6 percent growth at constant currencies since for the first nine months of the year, sales have improved 6.2 percent.

Deutsche Lufthansa (823212) eased 0.3 percent after the airline said that it planned to cut 2,000 jobs over a few years, but will not force anyone to leave.

Hagemeyer (35547) was slammed 27 percent after the Dutch electrical products distributor said it expects "substantial dilution" of shareholder value when it completes a refinancing package.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only.
Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.